Conceit

conceit, in literature, fanciful or unusual image in which apparently dissimilar things are shown to have a relationship. The Elizabethan poets were fond of Petrarchan conceits, which were conventional comparisons, imitated from the love songs of Petrarch, in which the beloved was compared to a flower, a garden, or the like. The device was also used by the metaphysical poets, who fashioned conceits that were witty, complex, intellectual, and often startling, e.g., John Donne's comparison of two souls with two bullets in "The Dissolution." Samuel Johnson disapproved of such strained metaphors, declaring that in the conceit "the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together." Such modern poets as Emily Dickinson and T. S. Eliot have used conceits.

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Conceit

See also Arrogance, Boastfulness, Egotism.

Ajax

(the lesser) boastful and insolent; drowns due to vanity. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 14]

Bunthorne, Reginald

fleshly poet; “aesthetically” enchants the ladies. [Br. Lit.: Patience]

Butler, Theodosius

thinks he is a wonderful person. [Br. Lit.: Sketches by Boz]

Collins, Mr.

pompous, self-satisfied clergyman who proposes to Elizabeth Bennet. [Br. Lit.: Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice]

Dalgetty, Rittmaster Dugald

self-aggrandizing, pedantic soldier-of-fortune. [Br. Lit.: Legend of Montrose]

Dedlock, Sir Leicester

contemplates his own greatness. [Br. Lit.: Bleak House]

Dogberry and Verges

ignorant and bloated constables. [Br. Lit.: Much Ado About Nothing]

Grosvenor, Archibald

idyllic poet of no imperfections. [Br. Lit.: Patience]

Henry VIII

inflated self-image parallels bloated body. [Br. Lit.: Henry VIII]

Homer, Little Jack

pats his back with “What a good boy am I!” [Nurs. Rhyme: Mother Goose, 90]

Keefe, Jack

baseball pitcher is a chronic braggart and self-excuser suffering from an exaggerated sense of importance. [Am. Lit.: Lardner You Know Me Al in Magill III, 1159]

Lewis

self-important coxcomb full of hollow, ostentatious valor. [Br. Lit.: Henry V]

Malvolio

Olivia’s grave, self-important steward; “an affectioned ass.” [Br. Lit.: Twelfth Night]

Montespan, Marquis de

regards exile and wife’s concubinage as honor. [Br. Opera: The Duchess of la Valliere, Brewer Hand-book, 721]

narcissus

flower of conceit. [Plant Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 170; Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 171–172]

nettle

symbol of vanity and pride. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 176]

Orion

scorpion stung him to death for his boasting. [Rom. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 971]

Prigio, Prince

too clever prince; arrogance renders him unpopular. [Children’s Lit.: Prince Prigio]

Slurk, Mr.

had a “consciousness of immeasurable superiority” over others. [Br. Lit.: Pickwick Papers]

Tappertit, Simon

boasted he could subdue women with eyes. [Br. Lit.: Barnaby Rudge]